First Farmers and Merchants in Columbia, Tenn., plans to buy out some of its shareholders and deregister as a publicly traded company.

The $1.2 billion-asset company plans to will pay cash to shareholders who own less than 400 shares of its stock. The amount to be paid will be determined at a later date by the company's board, based on an independent valuation.

The move will reduce First Farmers' total number of shareholders to less than 1,200, allowing it to suspend regulatory reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

First Farmers said in a press release that the plan should "result in significant savings in legal, accounting and administrative expenses" for the holding company and its bank. First Farmers did not provide an estimate of its cost savings.

"As we examined the relative advantages and disadvantages of our public status, it became apparent that the compliance and reporting costs outweighed the potential benefits of SEC registration," Randy Stevens, the company's chairman and chief executive, said in the release.

The plan is subject to approval by shareholders at First Farmers' next annual meeting. First Farmers expects to complete the transaction in the second quarter.

14-Day Free Trial

The increasing adoption of virtual card payments by accounts payable departments has created an unex­pected complication for suppliers: more friction in the processing, posting and reconciliation of payments and receivables. The root of the problem is that most suppliers rely on a manual approach to processing e-mailed virtual card payments. Suppliers are forced to balance their organization’s need for operational efficiency and control with rising customer demand to pay with a virtual card. But a new breed of tech­nology enables suppliers to process virtual card payments straight-through, addressing the needs of buyers and suppliers. This paper details the growth of electronic business-to-business (B2B) payments, shows how manual approaches to processing virtual card payments cause friction in accounts receivables, describes a way to process virtual card payments straight-through, and highlights the benefits of friction­less payments.